Hydroair compressor



Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,912

.W. S. SULLIVAN HYDROAIR c'ournzsson Filed July 30, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 a J z 2 A6 w a f 3/ 2a 2a 2% l 4 5 a x N INVENTOR.

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Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,912

W. S. SULLIVAN HYDROAIR COMPRESSOR Filed July so. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 c- 19.4-

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L J ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

UNITEDj STATES FORTY-FIVE BER 'oENr'ro JAM-us o. COLUMBIA.

Application filed July 30,

The purpose of this invention is-to pro- 'vide an air compressor having but one movable mechanical element, and in which a suitable liquid, such as water, is circulated in such manner'as to serve the function of a plunger for drawing in, compressing and expelling the air from a series of chambers carried by and forming a part of said element. 1

In carrying out the invention, I provide a stationary element, or stator, and a rotary element, or rotor, the latter having ahollow shaft which is journaled in the stator. This shaft carries, a head or drum,openat one side, and a circular series of chambers separated from the open side of the drum by a stationary valve plate having ports for admitting liquid from the drum into the chambers at one or more'points in the revolution of the rotor. The supply of liquid is admitted to the drum through the shaft and a rapid rotation of the drum and the liquid therein causes high liquid pressure near the a chamber comes opposite oneof said ports it is immediately filled with liquid. under high pressure and any air within the chamberiscompressed. The chamber has an air I port which next comes opposite the air outlet port in the stator. and the compressed air escapes through these ports and passes to a a suitable reservoir. Thereafter, the liquid inlet and the air port'of the chamber are closed and a liquid outlet portin the chamher is opened, and theliquid filling the chamber is thrown out by centrifugal force into a conduit which returns it to the hollow shaft. As the liquid flows. out,air flowsinto the chamber through an, air inlet port in the stator, and the operations ust described are The number of chambers.

then repeated. carried by the rotor may be va.rie d,' and, as

illustrated by the drawing and hereinafter described, the compression may take place in each chamber more than once during each revolution of the rotor. V 1

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig-1 is a side elevation of the compressor;

Fig. 2 isa vertical longitudinal section through the same approximately onthe line 22 of Fig.5;

Fig 3-3 'is a transverse section on the line peripheral, wall of the drum, so that when PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM S. SULLIVAN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR OF UUMMING, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT-OF.

Y RoAm COMPRESSOR.

1927. Serial Nb. 209,572.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and, Y

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionon the line 5-5 of Fig.2, partly broken away and showing some of the chambers in section Referring to the drawing, a represents the stationary part or stator of the compressor, coinprising'a suitable base 1, having a horizontally arranged tubular. portion Y tion lining 6. Nuts 7 ,.'threaded on to the hollow shaft 10 of the rotor and fitting within a recess 5? in one end of the sleeve, serve to adjustably hold the opposite end of the sleeve in close contact with thewall 27 of the carrier d, hereinafter referred to. The sleeve is held against rotationby set screws 8 on a flanged projection from a stationary annular plate 9.

The wall 3 is provided with diametricall opposite arcuate air inlet ports 11 and 11 and shorter diametrically opposite arcuateair outlet ports 1 12 and'12, the. latter ports spaced from the former'circumferentially of the wall. On the outer side ofthe wall, fittings 13 extend over the air outlet ports, and pipes 13 leadfrom these fittings'to a reservoir for the compressed air (not shown). .These'fittings may be joined together to form ahma'nifold, if I desired. A cap 14, secured to-the annular plate 9, forms a closure for one end of the hollow shaft 10, and a stand pipe 15, adapted to hold a suitable supply of water, projects upwardly fromthis' cap. Return pipes 01 extend over the ports a and 4E, and thence backwardly to the cap 14 to carry Water issuing through said ports back to the cap,

and thence into the hollow shaft.

The rotor 12 comprises the hollow shaft 10 in the interior of which are several inwardly projecting vanes 16, which extend through the shaft to a head or drum 17, these parts being-integral so that they rotate together- The vanes 16,- whichare arranged aoaapart, preferably decrease? width 'vi ird tile cap cast in one piece, comprises an annular 14, so that water entering the hollow shaft from the stand pipe and cap will be grad-- ually set in circular motion by the vanes as the water flows through the shaft toward the head, instead of being picked up by the vanes and immediately carried around with the shaft, as would be the case if the vanes were wide throughout and extended to the center of the shaft. The ends of the vanes 16 radiate outwardly within the head 17, as shown at 16, Midway between tie parts 16 of the vanes 16 are other vanes 18, which do not extend into the shaft but are arranged only within the head 17. The vanes 16 and 18 connect the shaft with the head, and the latter has an axial proiection19 on its outer side adapted for connec ion, by gearing or otherwise, to a suitable power source, and it has a peripheral wall 17 which extends within the peripheral wall 4t of the stationary part of the compressor.

An annular valve plate 20 is secured with in the wall d and lies in a plane transverse to the axis of the shaft 10. As shown, the valve plate has an annular flange 20 fitting within a recess in the housing, and set screws 21 hold the plate in fixed position. The head 17 is open on the side next the valve plate, and the peripheral wall of the drum has a running it with the plate and its flange, A ring 22 is secured to the outer side of the wall 4 by the screws 21, and this ring has aflange 22 which extends close to the peripheral wall of the drum at a short distance from the end of the wall 1-, thus forming an annular drainage passageway 23 by which any water passing through the running oint will be caught and carried by gravity to the outlet pipe 2 leading from said passageway.

The tubular shaft 10 has a flange 10 pro jectin'g outwardly in the plane of the valve plate and fitting closely against it, and this flange and valve plate form a partition which closes the inner side of the drum 17 except for the opening through the shaft and two arcuate ports 25 and 26, arranged opposite one another in the valve plate. A chambererrier (I is arranged in the space between this partition and the wall 3.

The chamber-carrier, which is preferably plate 27, fitting against the-stationary wall 3, a cylindrical part 28. fit-ting against the inner side of the cylindrical wall t, and a circular series of chalnbers 29, 29, etc,

which are open at their ends next the valve plate 20, these open ends constituting liquid inlet ports, and provided at their opposite ends, near their inner sides, with air ports 30, adapted to register with the air ports in the wall 8 of the stator. The chambers each have. water outlet ports 31, ex tending through the peripheral wall of the carrier and preferably inclined backwardly with reference to the direction of rotation the rotor, as shown, The inner part of the plate 27 of the carrier fits between the stationary wall 3 and a flange 32 on the hollow shaft, and the carrier is provided with ports 4* and 4t in the wall 4. These. ports are arranged so that each chamber-will come successively into communication with awa ter outlet port, an air inlet port, a water inlet port, and an air outlet port, and in the compressor shown in the drawing each chamber will register twice with such ports during each revolution of the rotor.

' Oil holes are provided at suitable points, as indicated at 34 and 35, for lubricating the running parts. he

The operation is as follows: The hollow shaft and head 1'? of the rotor are filled with water from a stand pipe and a suitable amount of water is kept in the stand pipe to compensate for leakage and to keep the shaft and head constantly filled with water. The shaft is rapidly rotated by suitable driving means in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs. 3 and 5. The water entering the shaft from the stand pipe 3 is caused to rotate with the shaft by the vanes, and the rapid rotation of the shaft causes the water to be thrown out centrifugally toward the peripheral wall of the head 17 with a force that depends upon the speed of rotation;

Thus, athigh speed a high pressure will be maintained opposite the ports 25 and 26 in the valve plate 20. hen a chamber, such as the chamber 29 is in the position shown in 2 and 5, water may flow through the port 26 in the annular valve plate into the chamber through its open end, and any air within the chamber will be expelled through the ports 30 and 12. At this time, the water outlet ports 31 of the chamber are closed by the stationary segmental part l, which serves as a valve for that purpose. As the chamber moves beyond the ports 26 and 12, its ends are closed by the plate 20 andwall 3, and when its port31 passes the segmental part 4:, said portis opened and the water in the chamber is thrown out'by centrifugal force into the return pipe 0. The air inlet port 30 next registers with the air inlet port 11 in the part 3 and air is drawn into the chamber while these ports are in registry.

Thus, the chambers 29 and 29 in Fig. 5 are shown in positions where water is being expelled. from the chambers and air flows in. The expelled water. enters the return conduit a. After passing beyond the air inlet port 11, the port 30 in the chamber is closed, and immediately thereafter the water outlet port 31 is closed by the segmental part 4 of the housing. The chamber is now filled with air and as the chamber commences to register with the water inlet port 25, water under pressure is forced into the chamber and the air is compressed in the chamber. The water being heavier naturally flows to the outer side of the chamber, while the air is compressed in the inner portion of the chamber. The chamber 29* in Fig- 5 is shown in the position where the chamberfills with water and compresses the air, and. this compression continues until the air port 30 of the chamber comes opposite the air out-let port 12 in the housing, when the compressed air is quickly expelled and flows through said port to the pipe 13*, by which it is carried to a suitable reservoir. As the chamber passes beyond the ports 12 and 25, its air port and water inlet port are closed, and when its water outlet port passes the segmental part 4, the water is thrown out centrifugally into the return conduit 0, at the right in Fig. 5. The air port in the chamber next registers with the air inlet 11 andair flows into the chamber by reason of the partial vacuumcreated by the centrifugal expulsion of the water. The air inlet port and water Outlet port of the chamber are closed when the chamber passes the ports 11 and 4 and when the chamber comes opposite the water inlet port 26 in the valve plate 20, water again enters and fills the chamber, compressing the air, and this air is released when the port 30 in the chamber is brought into registry with the air outlet port 12 in the housing. Itwill be seen from this that during each revolution of the rotor, each chamber will be twice filled with air, and then filled with water under pressure, causing compression of the air, and the compressed air will then be expelled. The water which is expelled from the chambers passes into the return'conduit and from thence into the hollow shaft of the rotor.

What I claim is:

1. An air compressor comprising a rotor having a head adapted .to contain liquid, a

chamber carried by said head, means for admitting air to the chamber, means for confining the air therein, means for admitting liquid from the head into the chamber to compress the air, means for releasing the compressed air, and means for expelling the liquid centrifugally from the chamber.

2. An air compressor comprising a rotorhaving a head adapted to contain liquid, a series of chambers carried by said head, means, operating during each revolution of the rotor, for admitting air to each chamber:-

in succession, means for confining the air the chamben 3(A'n-air compressor comprising a rotor having a head adapted to contain liquid, a plurality of chambers carried'by said head, each chamber provided with an air port, a liquid inlet port for admitting liquid from said head and a liquid outletport, and a stator having air inlet and outlet ports and having parts fitting closely against the chambers of the rotor, .said parts adapted, during each revolution of the rotor, to close the air port and liquid outlet port of each chamber, then open the liquid. inlet port, then open the air port of the chamber while the latter is opposite the air outlet port in the stator, then close the liquid inlet port and air portof the chamber, and then open the liquid outlet. port and the air port of the chamber while the latter is opposite the i V a head adapted to contain liquid, a circularseries of chambers carried by said member,

means for rotating said member to create pressure in the liquid centrifugally, means for admitting liquid from the head to the chambers in succession as the latter rotate, means for permitting the liquid to discharge from the chambers in succession, means for admittingair to each chamber while the liquid is being discharged therefrom, and means for discharging the air from, each chamber after the liquid has been admitted thereto. I

5. In an air compressor, a member having a head adapted to contain liquid, a circular series of chambers carried by said member, means for rotating said member to create pressure in the liquid centrifugally, means for admitting liquid from the head to the chambers in succession. as the latter rotate, means for permitting the liquid to discharge from the chambers in succession admitted and before the liquid is discharged.

6. In an air compressor, a rotatable member comprising a hollow shaft and head adapted to contain liquid, vanes extending radially in'said shaft and head, a series of chambers carried by said member, means whereby said shaft and head may be ro-f tated to create liquid pressure centrifugally in the head, means for admitting liquid from the head to the chambers in succession l as the latter rotate, means for discharging a the liquid from the chambers in succession, means for admittlng air to each chamber while the liquid-is being discharged there from, and means for. discharging the air from the chamber after the liquid has been admitted thereto. l

7. In an air compressor, a rotatable member comprising a hollow shaft and head adapted to contain liquid, vanes extending radially in said shaft and head, a series 0t chambers carried by said member, means whereby said shaft and head may be rotated to create liquid pressure centrifugally in the head, means for admitting liquid from the head to the chambers in succession as the latter rotate, means for discharging the liquid from the chambers in succession, means for admitting air to the chambers while the liquid is discharging, and means for discharging air from the chambers after the liquid has been admitted and before the liquid has been discharged.

8. In an air compressor, a statorhaving a bearing and having a housing comprising a side wall having circumferentially spaced air inlet and outlet ports, a peripheral wall provided with a water outlet port, and a valve plate projecting inwardly from the latter wall and having a water inlet port, and arotor comprising a hollow shaft journaled in the bearing, a. circular series of chambers carriedvby the shaft and fitting within the housing and a hollow head on the shaft having an open side facing said valve plate, each chamber having ports adapted to register with the ports in the housing and valve plate as the rotor revolves, and means for naintaining a supply 01:"- liquid in the shaft and drum.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

VILLIAM S, SULLIVAN 

